A new species of the spider genus Syntrechalea F.O.P.-Cambridge, 1902 is described and illustrated based on material collected in Loreto Mocagua, Colombia. Representatives of this spider genus exhibit an arboreal foraging behavior and are distinguished from the other genera of Trechaleidae by the flattened carapace, long legs and flexible metatarsi and tarsi. New records on the distribution of Syntrechalea tenuis F.O.P.Cambridge, 1902 in Colombia are presented.

Syntrechalea F.O.P.-Cambridge, 1902 was recently revised by CARICO (2008) and comprises eight species, four of them newly described (S. adisi, S. brasilia from Brazil, S. caporiaccoi from Venezuela, S. napoensis from Ecuador, and S. caballero from Paraguay).

The representatives of this spider genus are primarily recognized by the long and slender legs, flattened carapace, and flexible tarsi and metatarsi, character shared with Hesydrus Simon, 1898, its closely related genus (by the general shape of median apophysis and flexible tarsi and metatarsi). The retrolateral tibial apophysis is bifurcated with the ectal division narrow and the ental division prominent and flattened. The female epigynum is varied but has the middle field distinct and in a posterior position and surrounded by the anterior field. Most of these spiders are arboreal, foraging on the tree trunks in the inundated forests of Northern Brazil (CARICO 2008).

The objective of this work is to describe and illustrate a new species of Syntrechalea from Departamento del Amazonas, Loreto Mocagua in Colombia. New records of the distribution of Syntrechalea tenuis F.O.P.-Cambridge, 1902 in Colombia are presented.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The material examined is deposited in Instituto de Ciencias Naturales de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia (ICN, E. Florez). The nomenclature of the male palpus structures follows CARICO (1993, 2008) and SILVA et al. (2008). The photograph was obtained with a digital camera connected to the stereomicroscope. All the measurements are in millimeters. The abbreviations related to eyes measurements, including diameter, interdistances and median ocular quadrangle are those routinely used in spider descriptions.

Etymology. The specific name is a noun and refers to the type locality.

Conditions of holotype. Missing tibia, metatarsus and tarsus of left legs I and II.

Diagnosis. Syntrechalea colombiana is similar to S. caporiaccoi by the shape of the ventral division of median apophysis (CARICO, 2008, fig. 24), but can be distinguished by the pointed dorsal division of median apophysis (Fig. 3).

Note. The examination of the type of Syntrechalea reimoseri (Caporiacco, 1947) showed some differences in the morphological characters, such as coloration and shape of the abdomen. Also, a juvenile female was found in the same vial as the male described in this paper, but it could not be described because it was an antepenultimate female epigynum and the somatic characters mentioned above are different from S. reimoseri. The localities listed in the revision of Syntrechalea F.O.P.-Cambridge, 1902 made by CARICO (2008) are Ecuador, Guyana (female lectotype), Peru, and Brazil. Since there is no material registered from Colombia, the association of this male with the female of S. reimoseri is difficult, since in the type series of S. reimoseri, there was also included a male that were described as a new species: S. caporiaccoi Carico, 2008.

We wish to thank Dr. Eduardo Florez (ICN) for the loan of the type material and James E. Carico (Lynchburg College) for comments on the manuscript. The technician Maurício Paz França (PUCRS) from the "Centro de Microscopia e Microanálises" (CEMM) for the SEM images. This study was supported by "Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico" (CNPq Nº 140282/2008-4 for ELCS).

CARICO, J.E. 1993. Revision of the genus Trechalea Thorell (Araneae, Trechaleidae) with a review of the taxonomy of the Trechaleidae and Pisauridae of the Western Hemisphere. Journal of Arachnology 21 (3): 226-257. [ Links ]